Semplice is an Italian bakery and restaurant at 8C Turua St, St Heliers, Auckland, built around the idea that the best Italian food is often the simplest. Founded by Michelangelo, it celebrates the kind of Italian dining he grew up with — food made with care, patience and respect for tradition.
Semplice runs two identities in one space: by day, the bakery fills the room with the smell of warm cornetti, sourdough, focaccia and pastries made in-house, and by night, it transforms into a refined Italian restaurant centred around handmade pasta, classic dishes, great wine and genuine hospitality.
As the team puts it, simplicity at Semplice isn't the absence of effort — it's the result of it, starting with exceptional ingredients treated with respect so the flavour can speak for itself.
Semplice, at 8C Turua St in St Heliers, was born from a simple idea: that the best of Italian food is often the simplest. It's a philosophy that runs through everything the team does, from the bread in the bakery cabinet to the pasta on the dinner menu.
Semplice was created to celebrate the kind of Italian dining founder Michelangelo grew up with — food made with care, patience and respect for tradition, not elaborate for the sake of it, but thoughtful, refined and deeply satisfying. As Michelangelo puts it, he's always been fascinated by the care and patience behind great Italian food: a croissant with the perfect texture, a slow-fermented dough, a simple pasta sauce that tastes exactly as it should. These things only seem simple because of the work behind them.
Semplice has grown into more than a restaurant, running two distinct identities from the same room. By day, the bakery fills the space with the smell of warm cornetti, sourdough, focaccia and pastries, all made in-house. By night, the space transforms into a refined Italian restaurant, centred around handmade pasta, classic dishes — including porchetta — great wine, and genuine hospitality.
Semplice's guiding idea is that simplicity is not the absence of effort — it's the result of it. That means starting with exceptional ingredients, treating them with respect, and letting the flavour speak for itself rather than over-complicating a dish. It's a philosophy borrowed directly from the kind of Italian cooking that inspired the restaurant in the first place.
Beyond day-to-day service, Semplice offers private events for anyone wanting to host a function in the space, and gift cards for those wanting to share the Semplice experience with someone else.
Semplice also has a sister location, Posto Semplice, in Howick — a bakery, café and wood-fired pizzeria that extends the same philosophy into a slightly different format.
Semplice is located at 8C Turua St, St Heliers, Auckland, and can be reached by phone. Bookings can be made directly through the website.
Between its bakery mornings and restaurant evenings, a founder deeply invested in the craft behind Italian cooking, and a menu built around handmade pasta and classic dishes like porchetta, Semplice offers a genuinely considered take on Italian dining in St Heliers — simple in spirit, but never simple in effort.